Cyber criminals after your smartphone

We reported recently how the ownership of smartphones was rising rapidly in recent times, but this brings with it opportunities for the criminal part of society. Most of us will have some sort of security for our home PC but don’t think of having something similar installed on our handsets. Now there are reports of a growing number of cyber criminals after access to your smartphone.

The problem is not restricted to the Android platform either as earlier today we told you about malware being spotted on iOS 5. An article on the BBC is reporting of a new campaign to get smartphone users to protect themselves from cyber criminals. There has been a big rise in smartphone malware as criminals are creating Trojan copies of reputable apps.

Once these apps are installed on to smartphones they can secretly provide money for the criminals via premium rate text messages. Get Safe Online is a joint idea between the British government, police, and industry and is trying to raise awareness of the problem amongst users. Many users don’t realize there is a problem until they are landed with their monthly bill.

The applications can look like the real deal or can be free versions of well known games, and can quickly run up massive bills for the user. Rik Ferguson of Trend Micro said these apps can send texts every minute and often cost £6 per message. Users are often clueless of anything wrong happening because “the activity takes place within the device’s back-end infrastructure.”

Security Company Symantec have recently warned that there are at least six varieties of malicious software on the Android platform alone. With more owners using their smartphones for online banking now criminals have used this for financial gain.

You may think this is just some security companies getting people scared so they purchase security software for their devices, but there is plenty of free genuine security software available. Do you have security on your smartphone?

Gary has a background in engineering and passion for motorcycles, gadgets, and home cinema. In his early years, his obsession for Hi-Fi technology would see him creating the perfect setup with a good ear for sound quality. While Gary is keen to write about most topics that PR covers, his love for phones finds him reporting a lot of news about applications for iPhone, Android, and other popular operating systems